Introduction :
We can give the wonderful title, ‘ANNA BABA’, to our marvellous Guru Raghavendra, since with his blessings, daily thousands and thousands of devotees are being fed two times a day at Mantralayam, the holy abode of Guru Raghavendra. Apart from afternoon lunch which covers wholesome food with other dishes, daily night, mostly tiffin items, would be offered to the devotees. Hence most of the devotees who visit Mantralayam used to finish their lunch and dinner only at the Annadana Hall present at Mantralayam.
Similar to Ma Annapurani who offers food at Kashi and Horanadu, Guru Raghavendra also provides food to the visiting pilgrims, since he didn’t want his poor devotees to starve without food and water. We can also describe Guru Raghavendra as “ANNASWAROOPA”, “ANNARAJA”, “ANNARAYA”. Before becoming a Madhwa Saint, while he was leading a family life, as a house holder, our Great Guru has suffered from severe poverty. For most of the days, he used to consider only the Tulsi water as his food. Even if he gets some food grains from his neighbours, he used to give it to those who seek alms from him. That’s why, in Mantralayam, food is being provided on a daily basis, even during the times of natural calamities like famine, cyclone, floods and earth quakes. But during Solar and Lunar Eclipse and Ekadasi days, food would not be provided at Mantralayam.
In a famous Kannada Song, Guru Raghavendra Swamy is described as “ANNAPURNESWARA”, which means, the giver of wholesome food to all those who ask for food. Guru Raghavendra is a soft and gentle saint and there is no need to get afraid of him. Even in some Mutts of Guru Raghavendra, devotees would praise him, and worship Lord Vishnu to grant more number of years to our Great Guru. Some of the devotees would even worry whether someone would invoke black magic on to our holy worshipful Guru. But our Guru contains abundant powers even than that of the almighty! Our Guru is being protected and surrounded by innumerable deities, and hence, no one could cause harm to him. As per our Guru’s advice, let us feed poor people and other living beings on a daily basis, as per our financial status, in order to make our Guru to smile with happiness in appreciation to our noble act.
“OM SRI GURU RAGHAVENDRAYA NAMAHA”
Sent by
Harishankar
